[Periodic breathing Cheyne-Stokes type, predict excessively reduced exercise tolerance in patients with chronic heart failure].

Introduction: Periodic breathing (PB) is evident during exercise in some patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and is accompanied by hyperventilation.

Aim: To determine whether the presence of PB predicts excessive reduced exercise capacity in patients with severe CHF relative to patient with CHF of similar severity but with no PB.

Methods: Sixty-one CHF patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise from 2009 to 2011 as part of their evaluation for cardiac transplantation.